Holland, MI -- First Post

I arrived back home last night from my trip down state. I exhibited my art at the Blessing of the Bikes show on Sunday and then at a Gitche Gumee Gathering on Monday. I'm leaving for MN mid-day so I won't get a chance to post all of the photos. Below are some of the tulip pictures I took at a park in Holland. The last photo is one of my sister, Diana, and me.

Escanaba -- Post 2

While in Escanaba, we stayed at the House of Ludington. The hotel was built in the mid 1800s. Other than the fact that it has been updated with electricity and plumbing, it was like stepping back in time. Here is the front desk as well as a photo of the first glass elevator built in Michigan, which allows a view of Lake Michigan.






In the bar, they have a terrific collection of figures. They were all around a foot in height.

Escanaba, MI -- Post 1

This past weekend my friend Renee and I worked my mineral art booth at the first show of the year. This was the TV6 art and craft show in Escanaba. On Sunday morning, the show didn't start until 11:00 am, so we drove around the area. At the south end of Bay de Noc we noticed these cement statues in a park. They were made from cement by E.H. Levely in Midland County. Later, Henry Ford tried to purchase them from W.C. Wickham, who had purchased the collection. Wickham refused the offer. Wickham's son later purchased the cement figures from his father's estate and later donated them to the community to be displayed along the Bay de Noc for everyone to enjoy.

Sable Falls and Sunset Photos

The last couple of days I have been getting my exercise at Sable Falls. The steps are sandy but completely free of ice. Since I have decided to hike the Grand Canyon again next February, I am starting my training early. So far I am up to 4 consecutive times up and down the steps. Usually I just go to the end of the wooden boardwalk, but last night I went all the way to the beach to capture these sunset photos.




Here is one basic photo of the falls and some detail photos.






This is the last patch of snow along the Sable Falls steps. This time last year we were still snow shoeing. What a difference.

Miscellaneous Photos

This time of year it is great that the sun is setting farther to the north. Here is a sunset from the east side of town taken from a friend's porch.



I organized some of the rocks I collected from the river in Kentucky. There were a lot of rocks with botryoidal formation.




For what ever reason I enjoy taking pictures of flowers as much as I like taking pictures of rocks. Here is a beautiful bouquet my friend had on her table.



When I left for Kentucky there was still ice on Sable Lake. That is no longer the case.

Ohio Fossil Hunting

On the way to Kentucky we stopped in Ohio to go fossil hunting. We looked at Caesar Creek Lake in Waynesville, Ohio. We also stopped along a highway in the area and collected at a road cut. Below is a picture of Jill at Caesar Creek, the road cut search area (it was steep!), and a couple of close ups of fossil specimens. We were hoping to find trilobites but were not successful. In addition to trilobites, there are several other types of fossils including brachiopods, cephalopods, bryozoans, gastropods, crinoids, and horn coral. Fossil hunting is free in the park but you have to stop by the visitor's center to receive a free permit from the Army Corps of Engineers who manage the dam property.






Below is a photo I forgot to include with the Kentucky pictures. It shows jasper nodules in sandstone. The picture was taken on one of the paths at the Natural Bridge.



On the way home I stopped at the Fox River north of Seney to get some water from the artisan spring. Below is the sign explaining the Fox River's natural status. The well is located at the campground.

More Kentucky Photos

Our rockhounding host, Scott Hardy, is shown here at one of his four rock saws. Well over 90 percent of the Kentucky agates show no banding on the exterior. Since the husks are so thick, you usually have to cut the nodules open to discover what is inside.



One of the sunsets we saw while in Kentucky.



One of the days in Kentucky Jill and I decided to play tourist. We visited the Natural Bridge, which is near the Red River Gorge. It is a sandstone formation that spans 78 feet and is 65 feet high. There is a sky lift chair lift that takes you to the top, or you can walk up one of the trails.

More Kentucky plus April snow photos

The agates in Kentucky are confined to a few counties. We stayed in Irvine, which is in Estill County, and drove around 30 or 40 miles to the Middle Fork river area. This scene was painted on a building in Irvine, Kentucky.



One guy we spoke with claims that Kentucky has more bodies of water including rivers, creeks and lakes than any other state other than Alaska. I don't know if that is true but there were a lot of rivers, including the Kentucky River.




Everywhere in Estill County the barns were decorated with these crazy quilt designs.



Very few places in Kentucky were flat. There were hills everywhere, that often times had grazing horses or cows.




The night I arrived home from Kentucky, where we had temperatures near 90 degrees, it snowed in Grand Marais. In fact it snowed for a whole day resulting in an accumulation of around five inches. My daffodils didn't like it much.